Thousands sign pub's petition

Karli Cadel / Staff Photographer

Joseph Kowalow has raised an estimated 1,500 signatures in his fight to save Louie’s Suds & Sun Pub, and he said he would not stop until he has raised more signatures than the number of students who voted in the last Associated Students election.

Louie’s Pub will have to move off campus when Aztec Center closes due to the Modern Space project. Kowalow, psychology senior and Pub employee, said that after enough petitions have been raised, he would attend an A.S. council meeting and “demand” their support in saving the pub.

If the council refuses him, Kowalow said he would resort to more drastic measures like protests and even an A.S. executive recall.

The 1,500 signatures raised is a conservative estimate based upon several petition papers that have yet to be returned to Kowalow. He very well may have a greater number than 1,500. The A.S. Web site records a voter turnout of 3,255 students in the spring election meaning that Kowalow has almost reached that halfway mark. Louie Holton, the owner of the pub, has not been involved in the petition process, Kowalow said.

Executive Director of A.S. Dan Cornthwaite said that the recall process has only been used once during his tenure, and while technically Kowalow could have A.S. officials ousted, the process was originally designed to address A.S. ethics violations.

“There’s a process in the A.S. bylaws that has to be followed to recall A.S. officers,” Cornthwaite said. “I’m not sure in this case what the charges would be, of wrongdoing or whatever, other than the fact that they may not agree with his position.”

Cornthwaite said the university will have a campus-wide space shortage during the renovation and that relocating Louie’s Pub is not possible. He said that the money earned from Louie’s Pub has been down for several years now and that Modern Space would be a fresh start to select the best business venture for the space.

“There will be a pub,” Corthaite said. “If the overwhelming voice of the students is that Louie should be the operator, I’m not sure that they are really in a position to have access to all the information that should be part of any criteria that assesses whether or not he is the right operator for that space. Again, I’m not suggesting that he’s not, but it’s just not a guaranteed thing.”

If nothing is done, Kowalow promises a large-scale protest complete with community involvement and attendant media coverage.

“Without saying what it is- I will make the administration’s head spin with what I can organize,” Kowalow said. “I have a loud voice. I will not be quieted. I will be heard. The student’s voice will be heard. The huge shame of this is that the student council should be doing what I am doing because…they know how big of an issue this is to the students.”

In September, Holton said he was warned not to get involved in any “student upheaval” by Director of Communications and Campus Relations for Aztec Shops R.D. Williams and that doing so would negatively effect securing a new lease.

However, a “student upheaval” may be exactly what SDSU will see in coming months, according to Kowalow.